Monday, September 14, 2009

Linearity -- Caulk Squares and Rectangles

This is a new work, and a bit different for me, at least in some ways. This piece is 4 x 9 inches, a size I've never worked on before. The base is frozen pizza cardboard (FPC), nothing new there. I've been using circles in my art for some time now, because I really love them. But recently I've been inspired to play around with using squares and rectangles, with caulk applied with a small palette knife. It was harder to make them that way than I expected, because it was the first time I tried it. Hopefully, if I try it again I'll get better with some practice.

On this piece, I sanded the image side of the FPC and then covered it with white gesso. Then glued down the netted fabric, then painted over it with Liquitex Majenta acrylic paint. After that dried, I rubbed Liquitex Cadmium Yellow over it with my finger. This is a color combination I love and have used at times. Although the magenta looks more like a burgundy to me, and not true magenta at all. I love burgundy and yellow used together.

After that, I applied white acrylic caulk with a small palette knife. I thought that part would be easy, but I was wrong. It was rather difficult and required a lot of patience. Once the caulk dried, I painted it with different shades of orange, then rubbed contrasting colors over the squares and rectangles with my finger to highlight the texture.

I liked it at that point, but felt it needed more and wasn't finished. So I picked up the stems off my driveway and glued those down, then rubbed brown shoe polish over them. And then pulled out my stash of skeleton leaves and found just the right size for this piece. I didn't initially intend for this to end up being a nature piece, and yet it sort of is -- at least partially. My squares and rectangles are far from perfect....but that's okay. I kind of like them that way.

If I do this again, I think I might try adding the paint directly into the caulk and mixing it in before applying it to the piece. Just a thought anyway. Or perhaps diluting the caulk a bit and see what happens with that. Or maybe applying the caulk with a paintbrush instead of a palette knife.

So anyway, that's what I did on this piece. I kind of like this size and format, at least for the linear effect. It's nice to play around with new ideas. Where they might lead....I have no idea!!!

16 comments:

I love the colors and the combination of elements. Next time, you might want to cut a square/rectangle stencils from cardboard and then glob on the caulk. After removing the cardboard you play a bit so it look more organic.

Val this is a really great piece! I loved hearing how you created it, and it inspires me to play more with my "stuff". I really enjoy the size of this, and yes it does have a linear feel to it and of course the twigs add to that. the mix of the squares/rectanges with the natural shapes is really good expecially with the rich autumn colors in contrast with the pale leaves. Great job!

Val, I love your nature piece. The colours and all the elements you have applied make it look really great. Being a lover of nature I am very partical to it. You have given me inspiration to try and make one too. I like that the rectangles are not perfect as nothing in nature is perfect! Margaret http://margaretweiss.blogspot.com

Isn't is funny how we labor over something and don't think it is very good, and yet when others see it, they have no idea what a labor it was. They just think it looks great. I think is terrific. Thanks for sharing how you did it.

Val- I wanted to leave a comment on your blog now that I know how. : ) I found myself nodding my head in agreement when I read the other comments. You are always so willing to share your process and it's fascinating. The colors and composition in this piece are fantastic! Thanks for being so willing to share.Pam

Hi Val. Thanks for you comment on my latest tutorial. I have always kept your caulk work in the back of my mind and will surely try it one of these days.Your recent work is brilliant. I especially like this.You might want to see some of the ideas tha MAMMA group members have come up with for this challenge. I've been pretty amazed. One person used celery....Do stop by the pool and see themat This addressNancy

I recommend that people be careful handling cadmium paints (cadmium is a carcinogen) and check out other products for toxicity. You can always wear some thin plastic or latex gloves if they are safe and don't give you allergy problems, rather than let chemicals touch your skin.I know I have handled a bunch of bad stuff over the years and now try to be more careful.